Ghosts of the Past
by BluePhoenix07
Summary: Roy and Riza both encounter an Ishbalan for the first time since the Ishbal annihilation campaign, and it brings back thoughts they both had seemed to conquer. Takes place after chapter six of the manga. spoilers up to chapter 60-ish. Royai. One-shot.


Hey! So this is my first try at fanfiction and I was re-reading chapter 6 and I came up with this suddenly. The characters might be a little OOC... and if you guys have anything to suggest you're more than welcome to, so please review!!

So this takes place right after chapter six, when they all realize that Scar is an Ishbalan, but there are spoilers up to chapter 58 or so.

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Roy looked around the peace and quiet of his office. Edward and Alphonse had just left to their mechanic, along with Major Armstrong. The rest of the crew had left all one right after the other, feeling some tension coming from the main desk as Roy puffed and grumbled under his breath. The first to leave was his Lieutenant, who mumbled something about going to the bathroom and then getting some tea before leaving the office, not even bothering to push the chair back into the desk, something very unlike her as Roy thought it. The rest of his groups was less discreet. As soon as Hawkeye left the room, they all filed behind her, not wanting to be left alone with a grumpy Colonel and no Hawkeye to control him.

Today had been a very emotionally charged day for him, one of which he hadn't had in a while. Roy had few things of which he did not like being reminded of, and today he was reminded of one that just made him think of all the others…

Today was the first time Roy had seen an Ishbalan since the war, and it brought terrible thoughts to his mind. Every time he closed his eyes, even in the short instance of a blink, he would see the bodies of those he killed, the fires he helped bring up, the buildings he helped burn down, the back of the one who had trusted him with it all…

He remembered the first time he saw the insignia engraved on her back. He grinned at the memory. He was a teenager back then, she being only two years younger than him. He remembered how his heart raced when she turned around and started to take off her shirt, and how he had to take a few deep breaths and think of undesirable things to keep his mind from going down to the gutter as she unclipped her bra, and how hard that was to accomplish while his fingers traced her skin. He admitted to himself that he had asked her to show it to him a few more times than necessary, but he could not help himself to say anything about what he felt to her, so he figured maybe he should burn that image to his own memory as perfectly as possible, so he could have something to live for during his time in the military.

That was why when he saw her later at the camps in Ishbal, he was devastated. He couldn't face her… not after all he had done… after how he had abused what he had learned so terribly, using it to kill the innocent. And he felt as though he could see it in her eyes when she looked at him. She looked hurt, betrayed…

Of all the undesirable things he was reminded of, the most painful was how he had hurt her, and how he had to do it physically later when she asked him to burn and crush her back. Yes, he was guilt ridden about the people he had killed, there wasn't a day where he didn't wonder if his place in hell, if there is one, was already reserved. He was haunted by those people he had killed, by the screams of agony he had heard, they constantly flooded his nightmares and kept him awake at night. But the ghosts that haunted him most were those of Riza and him once happy in the long distant past.

Roy swiveled around in his chair as he tried to think of other things, but to no avail. He stood up from his chair and started pacing in the office, and that was when Maes chose to enter his office. One look was all it took for him.

"You too, huh?" he said as he sat at the sofa in the office.

"Yeah," said Roy dejectedly as he rubbed his eyes and sat down once again, his right foot shaking as he placed it over his left knee. "It's been a while..."

"You know," said Maes, "I think you shouldn't spend the night alone, you seem distressed. Gracia made some great apple pie." He added, grinning to himself as he thought of his wife.

"Maes, of course I'm distressed!" Roy snapped at him, "We're talking about that massacre! So many innocent people were killed by my hand, so many of my stupid actions that I regret! I can't believe I let it get that far! So many innocent people…"

"You're not just talking about the Ishbalans, are you?"

"Maes, I don't need to he-"

"Yes you do!" Interrupted Maes, "You do Roy, because things never go through your thick head unless you hear it over and over again, and even then they come in through one ear and leave through the other one!" Maes took a deep breath as he thought about a way to say what was on his mind. "Riza chose to join the military academy of her own accord; she would have seen the terrible destruction that was Ishbal anyway."

"Yes Maes but -"

"Let me finish!" Maes said as he saw Roy planning his response already, "Yes, you did hurt her, and yes you are to blame for how betrayed she felt when she saw what you had done, I'm not going to lie to make you feel better. However, you are NOT to blame for the fact that she was there and she saw it all. I know you blame yourself for it but you aren't. Riza's suffering is not just because of what you did, she also saw what haunted both of us for months and months after the war, and it still haunts me every once in a while as I know it does to you."

Roy nodded, agreeing to his last statement. He still had many nightmares about it, but there was no way he would stop feeling completely responsible for everything Riza went through. He voiced his thoughts and Maes shook his head.

"We've had this conversation millions and millions of times Roy, and quite frankly I'm not in the mood to have it all over again. I have a lot of thoughts going through my own head right now too after who we saw today, so I'm going to be a selfish jerk for now and only say talk to her."

"And you know what my answer is to that too so we're at a standstill again," said Roy as he stood up again to look out the window. It was still raining.

He heard Maes sigh as he also stood up and walked to the door. "It's the only way you'll ever settle it once and for all." And with that he left the office.

Roy knew it was a tense day when Maes was the one who was angry at him and when he wasn't doing his old antics with his daughter's pictures. Roy almost preferred that to the conversation he just had.

Almost.

Just then he heard the door to the office open and he turned around to see who it was. Everyone was filing in, all except Riza. When he asked everyone shrugged.

"We saw her earlier waiting for her tea to get ready, maybe she's drinking it there?" said Fuery.

With that the Coronel left the office looking for her. He wasn't going to talk to her, that was out of the question, but he needed to see if she was at least alright. When he arrived at the small tea and coffee room, all he saw was Riza's military jacket on the chair and some tea spilled on it. He bolted to the bathroom and yelled Riza's name from the door.

"Sir?" he heard her say from inside, sounding slightly off.

"Lieutenant, are you OK?"

"Yes, sir, I just spilled some hot tea on me and it burned me slightly… nothing terrible" she said, and he thought he heard emphasis on the word 'burned'.

"Oh, ok, I just was wondering what was taking you so long," Roy said pathetically, looking for what else to say, but Riza beat him to it.

"You can go back, I'm fine, I'll see you in a few minutes," she yelled from inside.

Roy excused himself and went on his way to the office. Upon arriving he saw the guys placing money on the table, making some kind of bet. All he could catch were the words 'won't' and 'Lieutenant', but he could pretty much catch the gist of it. He cleared his throat loudly as he stepped into the office and they all scrambled and grabbed the money.

"I saw that you were betting already, no need to hide it…" he said, walking through and sitting down. The rest of the guys looked at each other, dumbfounded by the fact that Roy had not said anything about it. "You know what," he said suddenly, "Just go home for the day, I'm having a terrible day; it's been rough, so just leave."

The guys did not need more convincing. They grabbed their stuff and bolted away. All but Havoc, that is. Roy looked out the window and noticed Havoc's reflection hovering behind him. Without bothering to turn around, Roy asked him what he wanted.

"It's Ishbal, isn't it?" he asked, talking cautiously as if to make sure he wasn't stepping on a landmine.

Roy sighed as he turned around to look at him. "Yes, Havoc." Roy paused, and there was a silence as if both were expecting the other one to say something. Roy started to trace the wood on his desk with his bare finger. He had taken off his glove as soon as he came back to the office. Once the silence was too long to stand, Roy spoke again, "Havoc, that war was terrible. I hadn't seen an Ishbalan in so long… and now that I did, all that I could see when I looked at him were the eyes of those I had killed during the war, even if he was going after us. Part of me just feels as if I would have deserved to be killed by him."

"Come on chief," said Havoc as he lit his cigarette and took a nice, long breath, "you were a young soldier taking orders… there was nothing else you could have done. We're going to a bar downtown tonight if you want to come. I'll even invite you to some drinks and everything."

Roy nodded and Havoc just turned around and walked to the door. Once he reached it, he stopped and said, "and for the record, I agree with Lieutenant Coronel Hughes," and with that he left before Roy could have said something in return.

Was Roy really that pathetic? And obvious for that matter…

Thankfully his door opened again and he was glad for the distraction, but when Riza walked through the door it just made his feelings worse.

"I let everyone else leave early, Lieutenant, you're free to go too."

Riza looked up at him, and sent him a knowing look, "I better not find out you're drowning your sorrows away at some cheep bar, sir," she said as she put her things away and prepared to leave.

Roy smiled sarcastically as he kept his eyes on her and said "Would it really be that bad for me to do today?"

Riza just shook her head and sighed as she looked up at him. When she saw the look on his face she faltered. He looked dejected, sad, guilty… "Sir, are you going to be alright…?"

"Yes, Lieutenant, I'll be fine. In fact, I'll call you when I get home just so you know I'm safe"

"I'd like that." Riza said as she grabbed her bag and walked to the door.

"Wait," Roy said as a sudden bolt of courage built up in him, "close that door."

Riza looked at him suspiciously as she closed it again, "what is it, sir?"

"First, don't call me sir right now… we've been needing to have this conversation for a while…"

Riza took a deep breath and felt her heart start to race, she knew it was coming, she knew it ever since she took a look at the man who was fighting against them all at the main street in central. "Yes, we have…"

"Riza I'm so sorry, I know I've said this before, but I need to say it again. I'm sorry. I don't even know how you've stood up with me all this time! If it weren't for me, you would not have seen all those horrible things, you wouldn't have suffered so much, you would have clean hands right now, and would be in a safer place…"

"Roy…" she said taking a deep breath, "I've been meaning to talk to you too, about this as well. I know you too well, and I knew you were berating yourself about what I went through, and at the beginning, I'm not going to lie… I thought it was all because of you. But I got over that…" she walked over to him as she dropped her bag to the floor, "Roy, you need to know that I would have joined the military anyway had you not come along," Riza lifted a finger as she noticed Roy about to interrupt. He closed his mouth and nodded for her to continue, "my grandfather is my only living relative, and my father would have died when he did anyway. I would have been sent to Ishbal and I would have had my hands tainted in blood. Do you understand that?"

Roy looked at her weekly, trying to find the words for what he wanted to say, "but if it weren't for me, you would not have the burden of all the lives I also took,"

Riza sighed, it was not going to be easy to make him understand her, "When I lie awake at night, what I see is no longer the flames I used to see before, but the lifeless eyes of my own victims when they fell to the ground. I feel guilty for my own actions. What happened with the flame insignia is passed and you are now using it for good, so my guilt over showing it to you has also passed, slowly but surely… and I know you will still dream of those you killed with it, but I want you to know that I no longer feel the burden over showing it to you. You are a good man Roy, despite what I know you believe about yourself, and I'm proud of you for how you overcame your own guilt and started moving forward. However, I don't want to be responsible for any guilt you still carry over how you used the flame alchemy in the past. I want you to envision yourself using it for good in the future." With that Riza took a deep breath, one that seemed like a sigh a relief, one that lifted a weight off her shoulders. "As a soldier it is already hard to overcome

Roy looked at her, not believing how spot-on Maes had been. That man had an incredible woman's intuition every now and then that made him wonder how much of it all he talked to Gracia about. Looking at Riza he saw how hard it was to say all this out loud, how hard it was to overcome her own guilt, and he believed that he certainly was going to be capable of it too. Upon a sudden urge, he went up to her and hugged her as he had never hugged anyone before.

"Thank you, Riza," he said in her ear, making her uncharacteristically blush and feel like her own teenage self again, "you are such a strong woman, and I know that wasn't easy for you. If only we could get rid of these ghosts that haunt us now, all these Ishbalan faces…"

Riza hugged him tighter, something to which he responded equally "It's something all soldiers deal with, and some days are worse than others, but we'll get through it Roy, you'll see"

"I'm so relieved we talked about this…" Roy said as he placed his head on her shoulder.

She placed her hand on his head and started to run her fingers through his hair absentmindedly, "I'm sorry I didn't make it clear to you before. I should have realized you would be blaming yourself a long time ago… and once I did, I shouldn't have put it off."

Roy chuckled, "Maes was right,"

"He sure was"

They remained in the embrace, but all of a sudden they both became aware of the other one. He could smell her fragrance from the nape of her neck, that same one that drove him wild when they were younger. She could feel his muscles under his uniform in their embrace. He tightened his arms around her tiny waist. He marveled that she still kept her proportions, even when she was now more muscular than she was when he left her so many years ago. She marveled at how he could still keep his boyish face, even after all this suffering. Their touches became slightly more needy, more sensual, as they rubbed each other's backs and heads. She loved how his hands felt on her back again, despite the layer of clothing that lay between them this time. She started running her hands up and down his arms, and he continued on her back.

When his hands reached the nape of her neck, and touched her bare skin, they both seemed to realize what was happening, and they separated from the other as if they had been sparked. Both breathing heavily and slightly flushed, Riza grabbed her bag and walked toward the door. She had to clear her throat before speaking again, "If you need anything, sir, please feel free to call, I'll probably be up anyway…" and with that she left the office toward her house.

Roy looked at the closed door longingly, his heart still beating rapidly. Relieved as he was about this conversation, what had just happened between them left him more confused. He turned around to look out the window, and swore loudly as he saw an Ishbalan child reflected back at him. He walked to his desk and opened the bottom drawer, finding his bottle of scotch and small glass.

"She said that I shouldn't go to any sleazy bar, not that I shouldn't drink in here…" he said as he opened the bottle and poured some scotch in the glass. "Besides, I'm going to need help tonight…" He lifted his glass to the window, "cheers" he said, as he closed his eyes and let the alcohol pour down his throat…

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Riza struggled with her keys as she arrived at her door, her hands still shaking. All the shadows she saw on her way to her house were haunting her, all the red lights from the cars looked like eyes staring back at her, and Roy's smell still lingering on her was not helping either. What had happened? What was going on?

She entered her house and ran to her phone, calling her one female friend she trusted the most in.

"Hello?" answered the perky voice she knew so well.

"Rebecca, it's Riza…"

"Oh hey Honey! How's everything?"

"Well wouldn't you like to know?" Riza said as she took a deep breath and started explaining.

By the end of it, it seemed like Rebecca couldn't take it anymore. "I told you," was all she could say.

"Rebecca, I'm calling about the war here, not about what happened with the Colonel" Riza said half-heartedly.

"Oh please, you wouldn't have given so much detail about it if you didn't want my opinion on that either." She said, barely giving time for the previous word to come out before saying the other one, "I'm coming down there, I'm so glad we live in the same building." And with that she hung up.

Riza put the phone down and looked around her room. She noticed a bottle of tequila sitting on her kitchen counter that Rebecca had brought for her from one of her trips. She walked over to it and opened it, flinching at the smell. Taking a deep breath, she took out a shot glass and poured herself one. Before taking it she looked up out the window and almost dropped her glass in response. What she thought was blood smeared on the glass was merely the reflection of the rear lights of a car passing by. "Boy am I going to need help to get through this tonight…" she said as she took her shot. She cringed and opened the fridge in frantic search for her limes, but by the time she found it, she had gotten over it. She was ashamed of her behavior, she never did this, but tonight seemed like a perfect night to just break away from her character.

Right then someone knocked on the door, and Rebecca was yelling from outside to let her in. Rebecca let herself in when Riza opened the door, and gasped loudly when she saw the bottle of tequila open on her counter.

"Riza, how many shots?"

"Just one, I promise, that won't do much to me." She said as she put the shot glass away. All of a sudden Riza felt an emotional breakdown begin to happen, and she turned to face her friend.

"Oh honey… Come here," Rebecca said as she saw Riza's eyes begin to water.

"Why Rebecca, why did we have to go through that?" Riza said between sobs, "So many innocent people! Everywhere I look it's like I see them! And if it's too quiet, I can hear them too!"

Rebecca pulled away from her and forced Riza to look at her face. "Riza, you are a good person, I know you are. The fact that you feel this way proves it too. I wish I could say more to you, but the fact is that I wasn't there… you should talk with someone who was…"

"Rebecca, I don't want to talk about that right now…"

"Riza, he's crazy about you, and everyone with a pair of eyes and some common sense knows it… and I know you love him too… you need each other tonight. You both went through exactly the same things, and no one else will help better than him, and he also needs you…"

"He's such an idiot sometimes. I came so close to losing him today… all because he forgot it was raining... I can't believe that's the man I love…" she said shaking her head.

Rebecca grinned, "You see, we're getting somewhere, now you're finally accepting it."

Riza hit her friend playfully on the arm, "Rebecca, I've said this to you multiple times. Don't even give me that."

"So, are you going to go to him?" she asked.

"I don't know… what if he doesn't want me with him…"

"Well… judging by all those sexual caresses as you described…"

"I did not say that!" Riza said, flustered.

"You might as well have! 'He kept on rubbing my back and it was just so…'"

"Rebecca, don't put words in my mouth!"

Rebecca laughed and hugged her friend, "Oh Riza, I love you, and I want the best for you and right now, that's him… Please… are you going to go to him?"

Riza thought about it for a while, and after what seemed like an eternity, she answered "Yes… but I'm going to need at least two more of those…" Riza said pointing to the bottle of tequila.

As Riza turned away Rebecca jumped and celebrated, "Oh honey I'll even take them with you I'm so happy you're going through with this. Just be sure you're sober when you talk to him."

"Rebecca… I'm not 14, it will take more than three to take me out."

"Well Riza, that night at the bar… oh wait… you had more than me…" Rebecca corrected after remembering that disastrous night for her.

Riza smiled half – heartedly and grabbed the bottle, pouring the two shots. "That's what I thought."

After their shots, Riza's inhibitions lowered considerably. Rebecca was ready to leave with Riza, but she stumbled slightly on the way out. "Rebecca… you're such a lightweight!" said Riza as she helped her friend. "Oh, and by the way, Havoc was going to the bar tonight, from what I heard, maybe you should work on that," Riza said as she winked at her friend.

"Oh trust me honey, I will…" she said as she walked away.

Riza shook her head as she walked in the other direction, but she ran into something that made her fall back. A hand came into her vision, and as she looked up she wasn't prepared for what she would see.

There stood the very man she was going to look for. "Riza, pre-gaming is what people do in college." Said Roy as he helped her up, keeping her hand in his.

Riza looked up at him and smiled, "It's not like you didn't take your medicinal shots either, Roy. I know you too well." Roy smiled goofily, letting her know that he was pretty under the influence. "Oh boy, let's get you some water before you regret this in the morning…" she said as they both walked to the door, both still hand in hand without noticing. "What are you doing over here anyway?"

"I saw your light on… and I didn't want to be alone…" Roy said as he let go of her hand, which felt much colder all of a sudden.

Riza looked at him, and saw the sincerity in his eyes. Riza walked to her kitchen and looked for a glass of water. As she walked to him she said, "truth be told, I was going to look for you right now… I didn't want to be alone either."

She handed him the glass of water and their hands caressed once again, and Riza automatically retreated, accidentally letting the water drop all over him.

"Oh, I'm so sorry!"

"Don't worry, it's fine." He said as he stood up to clean the water, stumbling slightly. "You know, this reminds me of that one time we found a bottle of rum in your dad's office, and we stole it to see what it was like, and we both accidentally got drunk and spilled water all over each other." Roy said, laughing.

"I don't know what you're talking about… you were the only one to drink out of it… I drank water most of the time." Riza said smiling. "Here, give me your shirt and I'll hang it up to dry."

Roy took off his shirt and handed it to her. As she hung it up he spoke "Wait, are you serious? I thought we were both drinking out of it!"

"No Roy, I was deadly afraid of what my dad would do to us!"

"He was out of town!" Roy protested, as if she could do anything about it now.

Riza laughed lightly and turned around, facing Roy, concentrating very hard on looking at his face.

"You made such a fool out of yourself that day, it was so funny." She said as she turned away again, putting the bottle of tequila away.

"Thanks…" Roy said, pouting like a 4 year old.

They both talked about so many things during the next hour, they didn't even notice the time going by. They talked about how Riza's father had punished Roy terribly for stealing his rum, how they both chased each other in the backyard of the house, how the people in the town all thought they were young lovers, how Riza always beat him at any target games, how Roy thought she was cheating when she did, and how terribly they missed those days. Both had sobered up during their conversation, but the inhibitions remained low. Riza had kept on putting off talking about Ishbal, and she knew he was doing the same thing. All of a sudden the phone rang.

Riza stood up and answered it, and Rebecca was on the other line, "I know I might be interrupting, I'm sorry, but I've got news!"

"Rebecca, are you calling from the bar?" she said as she looked at Roy and rolled her eyes. Roy chuckled and shook his head, mouthing the word 'Havoc' and forming a heart in the air. Riza shrugged and raised a finger telling him to wait a second to see if his suspicions were true.

"Yes I am, and I promise I haven't had more to drink, I needed to talk to Havoc soberly… I mean sober… not drunk… dammit!"

Riza laughed, "Rebecca what's going on?"

"Well, right when I got here, Havoc and I started talking, and we're going to date!!!" she squealed into the phone. "We could totally double-date now!" At that Riza covered the earpiece and looked at Roy to see if he was listening. He wasn't, he had stood up and been walking around, and Riza just stared at his back. There was something about men with nice backs that just made her melt, and he certainly was not the exception.

"Riza… Riza!! Are you there?!" Rebecca had snapped her back from her reverie just in time, as Roy had turned around just when she looked away.

"Y-Yes, I'm here, I'm so glad for you! But hey, I've got to leave, we'll talk tomorrow, bye!" Riza quickly hung up and walked to where Roy's shirt lay, finding it was dry. She handed it to him so he could put it on, no matter how terribly she didn't want him to. It would be a little embarrassing to be caught staring…

"You were right, they're going to go out." Riza said.

"About damn time!" he said as he put his shirt on.

Riza smiled and looked around the room, her eyes lading on the mirror. She saw herself covered in soot and blood, holding in her arms an innocent child she herself had killed. She decided that she needed to talk about this, she needed to get it off her chest today. "Roy… I don't know if you want to talk about this or not… but I need to know if you still see the same things I do…"

"I see red… red all over. I see the red of the blood spilled; I see the red flames I created… I see the red eyes of those I killed…" Roy said as he sat down on the sofa again.

"Do you think it'll ever go away?" Riza said as she sat down next to him.

"I think it will get better… I don't think it will go away though… and quite frankly I don't think I deserve for it to go away altogether." Roy looked at Riza and saw her eyes water. As though on instinct for the second time that day, he hugged her.

She cried on his shoulder, and he let silent tears fall from his face. Riza said something that was muffled into his shirt, and he asked her what she had said.

"Stay…" Riza said as she grabbed onto his shirt tightly, "I can't make it through this night alone… and I know I'm asking you to compromise so much, and I know that it may be too much to ask, but-"

"Riza" he said, interrupting her, "That one word was all I needed to hear."

She smiled as she let go of his shirt and he stood up. She walked to the bedroom to look for anything she could give him to sleep in. She gave him a tshirt and a pair of pajama pants that he had left in her luggage once by accident. He took off his shirt once again in front of her, but he didn't put the other shirt on right away. Their eyes locked, and neither seemed keen on breaking contact. All of a sudden, both moved toward each other in a desperation neither knew the other one had. Roy lifted Riza up and set her up against the wall forcefully, while she grabbed his face on both sides. They looked at each other for a second, and as though on cue they leaned in. They kissed with such passion they completely forgot about where they were and how they had gotten there. Riza involuntarily groaned, making Roy grab onto her tighter, pressing her against the wall. Riza broke the kiss, moving down his neck, making him breathe heavily. She made her way back up quickly though, wanting some reciprocation. Before they started to kiss again, however, Riza stepped back.

"Roy wait, I need to be sure of something, because I don't want…." She took a deep breath as she prepared to say what she had been meaning to all her life, "… I don't want my heart to be broken…" Roy looked at her seriously as she moved on. "Roy, I love you, and I don't want this to turn into some pity party that we may end up reg-"

"Riza," he interrupted, "you have no idea how long I've wanted to hear that, and how long I've been trying to work up the courage to say it… I love you , too."

Without knowing what else to say, they both stared at the other one, both breathing heavily, hair messed up and lips puffed out. Suddenly Roy started laughing. At first Riza stared at him confused, almost offended, but then she heard what he was saying, "Maes is ridiculous… he was right all along! We're like a pair of stubborn teenagers who won't accept anything."

When she figured out what he meant, she too started laughing. Truth was, they were both pretty ridiculous. They had needed each other for so long, they got used to the wanting and never receiving. So much time had passed neither had bothered on doing anything, until now that is.

Roy stopped laughing first, and his face turned serious, making Riza stop laughing as well, "how long?" he asked her.

Riza thought about it, "I suppose it's been since you lived with my father, but I didn't notice until you left the first time."

"I guess I could say the same," Roy said, chuckling. "You know, this isn't funny at all, it's really quite pathetic."

"Yes, but I'd rather look at it through the comical point of view." said Riza as she let her hair down from her clip.

Roy admired her, "You should let it down more often, it looks great."

Riza smiled as she walked toward him, "Thank you, I'll do that." Riza stood on her toes as she kissed him again, meaning for it to be a peck only. He leaning in, however, and it all started all over again. This time, however, it was sweeter, more lovingly. Riza ran her fingers through his hair, and Roy played with the ends of hers. They separated again, and stood in each other's arms. When Riza looked at the time, she gasped. "Roy! It's 3 in the morning! When did that happen?!"

Roy chuckled and shook his head, "I don't know… time flies…"

Riza turned around and grabbed her pajamas, and without even thinking about it, took her shirt off to change into the other one. The other shirt, however, seemed to have magically disappeared. Blushing, she turned around, "Roy, my shirt."

"I have a favor to ask of you, and it may sound perverted but it's an honest request…"

Riza crossed her arms, trying to adjust her bra so it would expose a little less without him noticing, and nodded to let him know he could proceed.

"Riza, when you showed me the insignia on your back, it took me so much will power to not do or say anything... unappropriate. I thought you were so beautiful… and when you had to show me what was on your bare back, it took everything in me to keep myself strictly focused on the insignia. But now… now it doesn't have to be that way… now I can run my fingers down your back, not because I'm trying to memorize the insignia, but instead memorizing the way your skin feels under mine. We're both here together, both needing each other…" He paused, taking one step closer and she noticed the look in his eyes, the look of longing she knew she had given him so many times, "please… could you just lay with me tonight, with your back exposed not because of the insignia, but because I ask it of you, because we-" he interrupted himself, wondering if it was the right time to say what he had wanted to say all these years, that four letter word that could change everything in an instant, but eats someone up inside until it is let loose. Upon looking at her, her hair down and her arms crossed before her almost bare form, the moon shining behind her, giving her an almost otherwordly glow, he felt that emotion for her as strong as ever, but he knew he would have to take it slow, that he would have to go one step at a time, so he took a breath and continued, saving it for another time. "We're here for each other, needing each other… it's something I had thought about ever since the first time you showed it to me..."

Riza looked at him, flattered. "How you managed to ask me to sleep topless without sounding like a pervert is beyond me…"

Roy was about to complain but she walked away, and laid in her bed. "That was… I'm flattered… and I bet you practiced this speech so many times it's ridiculous," she said smiling. Roy began to protest again but she interrupted, "Fine, come over here."

Roy smiled and walked over, lay next to her and put his arm around her waist. "For the record, it was all spur of the moment, I meant everything I said."

She smiled and turned around to kiss his forehead. She had the sudden urge to also speak her mind, say that four letter word, but she held herself back. "Thanks... I know you did," She finally said once she had regained her composure. When she turned around again, she saw a pair of red eyes looking at her through the window, and she shivered at the chilling stare they gave her, grabbing onto the arm around her waist tightly.

Roy, on instinct, grabbed her tighter, "We'll fight through this together Riza, you're not alone."

"Thank you, Roy… I'm glad we're not alone… we never should have been…" She said as she closed her eyes, and both knowing the other one was at their side, they were able to drift off into a better sleep than they had both had in years.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

And there it is, my first shot at fanfiction. Thanks for sticking through it! Please leave a review, I'd love to be able to improve in this!

Ciao!


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